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If you were Joe Schmidt having won the Slam. beaten SA and Aus away and got rid of the NZ monkey of the backs of Ireland players, would you then reinvent your game for the 2019 RWC only to reveal all your plays ahead of it in the 2019 Six Nations?

And if your RWC experience had taught you that one very physical game can break the backbone of your team and eave you wishing you'd brought solid back ups in each position wouldn't you take that lesson to heart and move beyond in it the next opportunity you had?

I can't help feeling that Schmidt as constructed a plan for Ireland that is designed to address the weaknesses exposed in the Six Nations, that probably involves using the talents of Carbery and Sexton and that uses the entire squad to navigate the pool stage with an eye to leaving the team capable of playing anyone no matter who is lost.

We'll need a bit of luck for sure in hoping the right questions come up and injuries are kept low, but this is a huge test for our school teacher and he's had four years to prepare for his examination.

I expect him to do very well indeed.

I think this is what Schmidt is doing. He still wanted to do well in the 2019 6N but he's moved the focus to the RWC this year. Fingers crossed that it'll pay off.

Comment

I think this is what Schmidt is doing. He still wanted to do well in the 2019 6N but he's moved the focus to the RWC this year. Fingers crossed that it'll pay off.

I hope so. I have my doubts but the team definitely looks physically prepared for a different kind of game. They flogged them out in Portugal before the 6Ns too and I don't think they fully recovered in time for the competition, but maybe that wasn't the priority.

If Ireland do unveil a new, incisive and all-action game plan at the RWC and get to a SF or beyond, I'll eat my hat, but I'll gladly wash it down with all the pints I'll be drinking in celebration.

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Interesting alright. They look pretty lean and fit, but with our staid game plan, not sure if that's going to win us key games against bigger sides like the Boks. All well and good to say we're gonna run the legs off them but you have to be able to play ball to do that, not just hit it up or kick and chase.

At the moment, the Boks are just as likely to run the legs of Ireland. They have their usual massive pack, but it's fairly mobile, plus some extremely fast backs.

Erse end of nowhere

1 like

Comment

If you were Joe Schmidt having won the Slam. beaten SA and Aus away and got rid of the NZ monkey of the backs of Ireland players, would you then reinvent your game for the 2019 RWC only to reveal all your plays ahead of it in the 2019 Six Nations?

And if your RWC experience had taught you that one very physical game can break the backbone of your team and eave you wishing you'd brought solid back ups in each position wouldn't you take that lesson to heart and move beyond in it the next opportunity you had?

I can't help feeling that Schmidt as constructed a plan for Ireland that is designed to address the weaknesses exposed in the Six Nations, that probably involves using the talents of Carbery and Sexton and that uses the entire squad to navigate the pool stage with an eye to leaving the team capable of playing anyone no matter who is lost.

We'll need a bit of luck for sure in hoping the right questions come up and injuries are kept low, but this is a huge test for our school teacher and he's had four years to prepare for his examination.

I expect him to do very well indeed.

80 mins at home to instil a bit of optimism before they head off for Japan

Hopefully they go on a bit of a run because this side/group is coming to the end in lots of ways

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I can't help feeling that Schmidt as constructed a plan for Ireland that is designed to address the weaknesses exposed in the Six Nations, that probably involves using the talents of Carbery and Sexton and that uses the entire squad to navigate the pool stage with an eye to leaving the team capable of playing anyone no matter who is lost.

We'll need a bit of luck for sure in hoping the right questions come up and injuries are kept low, but this is a huge test for our school teacher and he's had four years to prepare for his examination.

I expect him to do very well indeed.

Great post RB, I'm luvin the optimism but I can't say I share it unfortunately.

The players do look well conditioned and I do like the bit of dog JS has gone for in the squad e.g. marginals like Klein, Ruddock & Farrell- I mean all those guys will do a good job for you versus anyone imho. Though I'd have gone for Marmion over McGrath for sure, and this could be crucial imho....

The outstanding issues as I see it are :
1. the 2019 form (&/or fitness) of Murray, Sexton, Carbery, Stander, Henshaw & Ringrose.

2. Best & Kearney have been below average for even longer

3. Schmidt's reluctance to select Scannell at 2 & Conway at 15 in the top XV. They're both much better than the incumbents imho

4. Ireland's gameplan, & that top sides know how to & have hammered them this year to date. (England twice, Wales once,...so far....)

Tomorrow will hopefully give cause for some renewed optimism, but in the warm ups to date, Ireland haven't looked like much tbh.....fingers crossed that this is part of a smart strategy but I'd very much doubt it ....

Comment

Matt Williams obviously felt the need to out-Franno Luke Fitz, so he's penned a steaming pile of manure about the eligibility rule in the IT today. I'll spare you the trouble of reading his clickbait.

Firstly he states that the 5 year rule kicks in at the end of next year, but doesn't explain that it has actually applied to anyone who's moved country in the past 18 months, largely eliminating the "project player" initiatives he so despises.

Secondly, and more ludicrously, he goes on to say that the rule is being used to import and "exploit" poor Pacific Islanders, especially in France. Now, apart from the fact that JIFF, which applies to the top league, is far more stringent than WR eligibility rules, to claim that the eligibility rule is the cause of exploitation in the lower leagues is a huge stretch and eliminating it is hardly an ideal solution.

If PI players are being lured to play in the French lower leagues on relatively low wages, changing the eligibility rules will "protect them" from "being exploited" as he puts it (or from "getting paid for playing rugby" as I would put it) by putting them out of a job and sending them home to a life of unemployment and poverty. I'm sure they'll be very grateful to you, Matty, oh great white saviour! I mean, you could put in place some better employee protections and rules about minimum salaries instead, but that would probably be a bit too much effort.

Basically, the logical conclusion of what he's saying is that:

1) There should be no path to eligibility for a foreign player to represent another country (a bit of a nonsense)
2) Foreign players should not be eligible to even play professional rugby in another country for fear of them being exploited (complete nonsense)

All of this penned by a man who himself spent a season playing rugby in another country, and then went on to make a living coaching in the NH.

Comment

Matt Williams obviously felt the need to out-Franno Luke Fitz, so he's penned a steaming pile of manure about the eligibility rule in the IT today. I'll spare you the trouble of reading his clickbait.

Firstly he states that the 5 year rule kicks in at the end of next year, but doesn't explain that it has actually applied to anyone who's moved country in the past 18 months, largely eliminating the "project player" initiatives he so despises.

Secondly, and more ludicrously, he goes on to say that the rule is being used to import and "exploit" poor Pacific Islanders, especially in France. Now, apart from the fact that JIFF, which applies to the top league, is far more stringent than WR eligibility rules, to claim that the eligibility rule is the cause of exploitation in the lower leagues is a huge stretch and eliminating it is hardly an ideal solution.

If PI players are being lured to play in the French lower leagues on relatively low wages, changing the eligibility rules will "protect them" from "being exploited" as he puts it (or from "getting paid for playing rugby" as I would put it) by putting them out of a job and sending them home to a life of unemployment and poverty. I'm sure they'll be very grateful to you, Matty, oh great white saviour! I mean, you could put in place some better employee protections and rules about minimum salaries instead, but that would probably be a bit too much effort.

Basically, the logical conclusion of what he's saying is that:

1) There should be no path to eligibility for a foreign player to represent another country (a bit of a nonsense)
2) Foreign players should not be eligible to even play professional rugby in another country for fear of them being exploited (complete nonsense)

All of this penned by a man who himself spent a season playing rugby in another country, and then went on to make a living coaching in the NH.

If i’m a twenty year old Fijian in France or England, I have two choices;

1) play for Fiji if selected;
2) don’t play for Fiji, and see if I make it for France or England when I turn 25.

Option two is where the money lies.

The JIFF encourages the move to happen even younger so that a Pacific Islander is homegrown.

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If i’m a twenty year old Fijian in France or England, I have two choices;

1) play for Fiji if selected;
2) don’t play for Fiji, and see if I make it for France or England when I turn 25.

Option two is where the money lies.

The JIFF encourages the move to happen even younger so that a Pacific Islander is homegrown.

None of which applies to Jean Kleyn, pronounced Klane, as the man himself told me. Once again Ireland getting knickers in a twist while England quietly selects Heinz, Cakanasinga etc without the slightest bother in the press.

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Competition for places (something typically lacking in Joes squads over the years) has been the main catalyst for improvements in performance since the England game imho. Not sure if this has come about due to rotation or players being temporarily 'dropped'.
Toner out, Cronin/Scannell putting pressure on Best, Killer putting pressure on Healy, Henderson/Kleyn starting 2nd row? Starting Stander at 6, POM at 7. We've seen different midfield combinations every week. Ringrose on the wing...

Aside from maybe Furlong, Ryan, Sexton, Murray and Aki, no player should be guaranteed a starting spot at the moment.

Aki has been the source of the majority of line breaks, but aside from his creativity and ability to get over the gainline, our attack still seems fairly blunt. Hopefully, they've got another few gears in them for the KO games because they'll need them.

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Hard to know what the best BR combination is at the moment.
I suppose it'll depend on the opposition and player rotation but right now, you could start any of these and still be reasonably competitive- (Stander, JVD, POM)... (Conan, JVD, Stander)... (Stander, POM, Beirne)... (Conan, POM, Stander)... (Stander, JVD, Henderson)... (Conan, POM, Henderson)... (Beirne, POM, Stander) etc etc

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